In order to better understand the invention, suppose a company was seeking an alternative to the traditional IPO process, such that a company wanted to take itself public by conducting an online auction of its shares.
A significant issue the company may face when conducting an open auction in which the traditional underwriters' roles are changed is to ensure that no buyer is able to derail the auction (and therefore its closing price) by bidding an unrealistic sum that it would not be able to deliver at settlement. Further, should a number of bidders default at settlement, the auction itself may penalize other bidders unfairly and damage the entity making its IPO, both financially and in terms of reputation. As further extended herein, the invention relates not only to sales of shares, but to sales of any kinds of items, including financial instruments and currency.